The Color of Your Eyes
by Junko-chanisdangerous
Summary: From their first-time meeting in a dark alley, to the accomplished war heroes that they became 10 years later, Chad and Ichigo were bound together. Not by the strings of fate, though. No, they were bound by a promise that would last a lifetime. (Written for ChadIchi day 10.01.19)
1. First Meetings Never go as Planned

**Eyyyyy, what's up? It's been like five years since I've written fanfiction and this is my first Bleach-themed story! So,,, lemme know if this sucks ass.**

 **Anyway, this was written for ChadIchi day (January 10), which was voted for by fellow ChadIchi lovers on the discord (I think? Idk man). I feel super empowered after just sitting down for a while and writing whatever the hell I want about one of my favorite ships, so… I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Brown.

Dirt on his uniform, his face, in his mouth and infecting the lacerations all over his body.  
The first three are unpleasant, but the last observation is a bit harrowing to realize.

Ichigo was pulled up by the hair from his prone position on the ground.

"This's the las' time ya make fun o' me an' my boys, yeah?" Rancid breath ghosts over the teen's face, and he can't hold back a grimace. His retort soon follows; unable to be held back, either.

"Sure, just brush your teeth sometime this year, _yeah_?" Ichigo cracks open his eyes and sneers at the man before him: Just another faceless thug thinking he'd been personally offended by Ichigo's _natural hair color_. Pathetic.

At least, it would've been pathetic if Ichigo hadn't been a pretty sorry sight, himself. He didn't know how these simple idiots had gotten the drop on him. Even if it was the 4-year anniversary soon, there was no reason to be distracted—especially not because today was July 15. Was he expecting the universe to be a bit nicer today? Maybe. Did this make the current situation that much worse? Absolutely.

"Wha'd you say, ya lil' shit!" The teen came back to reality to see the thug's face darkening, and two people grabbed his arms from behind. Eight more men came into the orange-haired teen's hazy focus.

 _Wait,_ _hazy? Did I get hit in the head?_

Now that he was thinking about it, that was probably how these guys had managed to overpower him: He had been walking home from school, and just happened to pass a shadowed alley while taking the scenic route. There had been a shuffling noise from further in and all Ichigo had been able to do was turn his head before sharp pain exploded from the back of his skull. After that was when everything had become kind of fuzzy, _Bingo_.

Brown.

The color of dried blood—his blood—sticking to his hair and the back of his uniform collar.

"I _said—_ Guh!" Ichigo opened his mouth to politely tell the man about his declining dental health, only to be hit in the abdomen with something that made a clanging noise on impact with his ribs. _Did they just hit me with a goddamn metal pipe? What do they think this is, a rumble?_ The teen doubled over as much as he could whilst being restrained and tried to remember how to breathe. Of course, his bruising stomach protested the movement, and Ichigo couldn't hold back a groan.

"Tha's wha' I though', brat." The man in front of Ichigo, seeming to be the thugs' leader, had released his grip on the teen's hair when Ichigo had curled up defensively. Now, a smug grin crept across the man's face, and he reached down to grab the teen's chin—pulling him up again to meet his eyes, "Looks like ya just needed a bi' of extra encouragemen' tah use tha' _pretty voice_ of yers."

Brown.

The tangled, mud-colored hair of the thug who now held his face in one grimy hand, _still breathing his rancid breath right in my personal space._

Ichigo was now mildly confused, and it wasn't just because of his probable concussion.

"What?" The orange-haired teen asked blankly.

"Ya heard me— _sing_ ," The man demanded, making a gesture to the lackeys holding Ichigo's arms. He let go of the teen's chin, and the two men grabbing Ichigo forced him to his knees and twisted his arms in their sockets.

Ichigo's shoulders felt like they were on fire. A sound welled up in his throat, but he cut it off before it could get past his lips.

 _Like hell I'm gonna give them the satisfaction!_ Ichigo thought , he was low on energy, and all his injuries were catching up to him—adrenaline be damned. His chances of getting out of this relatively unscathed were becoming slimmer by the moment.

Again, Ichigo cursed his pathetic state. He could blame it on being distracted, or perhaps on the fact that Goat-face had crept into his room at 4:00 this morning—and he did it _quietly_ , which is the most _terrifying_ thing in Isshin's arsenal because that man is anything but _quiet_ —andkicked him awake, deciding that then would be a perfect time for father-son bonding. Unfortunately, bonding has a different meaning to the burly man, and so Ichigo spent the next 3 hours going 13 rounds against Isshin to commemorate reaching his 13th year of life, today. Then, of course, he suffered through the next 7 hours of school with multiple bruises, sore muscles, and a great amount of mental fatigue; Isshin couldn't just _shut up_ when they sparred.

"Heh, ya look good kneelin' there a' my feet, brat. Where's ya fightin' spirit, now?" Ichigo craned his neck to look up at the thug's face, and saw a leer further contorting the man's features.

 _God, I forgot he was even still there. Why can't he just get on with it, already? I've spaced out for, like, 80% of this encounter and nothing's happened._ Suddenly, the leer melted off the man's face. Instead, anger burned in his black eyes. "Wha' was tha'?"

Oops, did he say that out loud? His concussion must be worse than he thought.

"Ya bitch! How dare yah act like this doesn' affect ya!" The men behind Ichigo let go of his arms, and he had one moment of joy, thinking that freedom was just around the corner. However, before he could even attempt to get up, his neck was grabbed, and his head slammed into the ground.

 _Ow, dammit, I'm seriously going to have to get my brain checked after this,_ the teen griped leader's hand tightened, and the man leaned over him, "I'm gonna make ya regre' bein' so snarky with the lieutenan' of the Branch o' Snakes!"

Yakuza?

Ichigo was surprised. He had realized that this group had a teensy bit of method to their madness (at least, more than the usual street thugs), but for them to be Yakuza—even if only a small branch—was unexpected. However, before the teen could think further of the repercussions of tussling with such an organization, a deep and calm voice sliced through the tension like a hot knife through butter.

"Hey," A deep baritone resonated off the walls of the alley, and a large shadow fell over the group. Ichigo's eyes widened as he took in the dark figure over the Yakuza's shoulder. Curious, the man pinning Ichigo down also turned to look at the new arrival. The hand around Ichigo's neck loosened and then was gone as the Snakes' leader slowly got to his feet and turned around to face the interruption. Ichigo knew this was his chance and tried to recover from his second major head-thrashing in under 15 minutes and mild asphyxiation, but it was slow-going, and he couldn't muster up the energy to move.

The Yakuza boss made another gesture to his men, and they all subsequently blocked off the entrance to the alley to keep the large figure from getting away.

"An' who migh' you be, hah? I'm a lil' busy righ' now, so make i' quick!" The leader of the Snakes grumbled irritably and got into the other's personal space. Ichigo was sure that move was intimidating to most people, but most people weren't _6 feet tall_ like this random guy was. Instead, it merely looked comical to his jostled brain. Like a house cat trying to raise its hackles at a lion.

He was hard-pressed to keep a hysterical bark of laughter from coming out of his sore throat.

The Yakuza leader grew increasingly angry as more and more time passed by with no answer coming from the tall youth in front of him. Finally, he sneered and pulled a pair of brass knuckles out of his back pocket, "Heh, yah migh' wanna back away righ' now, kid. This's gonna _hurt_."

Ichigo watched in growing horror as the Yakuza swung back his arm, and yet the other guy didn't move—didn't even brace himself for the metal-enforced right hook that hit him in the jaw. Surely it must've been incredibly painful, but you wouldn't know that from the lack of noise or reaction that the strike garnered. Even the 'Almighty Leader of the Branch of Snakes' couldn't manage to keep the apprehension from his face, "Wha'… Wha's wrong with yah? Was tha' no' enough?" The man scoffed, bringing his arm back once more.

Adrenaline surged through Ichigo's body at the sight. Something in him knew that this was going to go on for too long if he didn't act _right now_. All the pain in his body faded to a dull roar as he shot to his feet and drop-kicked the man in front of him, his mind screaming for him to protect _protect_ _ **protect**_ _—_

The stranger's eyes widened, and their hulking figure moved with a surprising amount of speed to get out of the way of Ichigo's fiendish second-wind. Instead, the 10 Yakuza members that had bunched up at the mouth of the alley to keep the new arrival from leaving then became collateral. Their leader crashed into them at full speed, and they all tumbled back onto the sidewalk outside of the narrow pathway.

"…Strike," Ichigo laughed weakly as he straightened from the crouch he had landed in. Immediately, he had to groan as the movement jarred the numerous wounds that he had received throughout the day. The tall figure slowly made its way over, and Ichigo straightened as much as he could without it becoming too painful. Who knew whether this guy was a threat or not?

"Are you alright?" Came the same rumbling voice as before.

Ichigo found it oddly soothing, and his suspicions eased without his consent.

"Ngh… Yeah," The orange-haired teen answered through gritted teeth, leaning against the nearby brick wall of the alley. He finally focused on the person in front of him and managed to decipher the features that he hadn't been able to study before now.

Brown…?

Umber, curly hair and bronze skin. A pair of calm, hazel eyes stared back at him from underneath the other's fringe.

It must've been Ichigo's concussion, because staring into those unfathomable pools of color scattered his thoughts to the wind. Quickly, the orange-haired teen glanced away from the other's face and cleared his aching throat; searching for a topic to latch onto. Noticing the familiar uniform stretched over the teen's hulking frame, Ichigo brightened a bit.

"Ah, thanks for the help. It looks like we're going to the same school, uh…?" Ichigo trailed off, prompting the large teen to answer the unspoken question.

"Yasutora Sado," The newly-named Sado answered in a familiar tone. Ichigo grinned and nodded but inside worried for his brain (and not just because Sado's voice was turning his knees to jelly); he couldn't quite hear what the other teen had said over the ringing in his ears.

He decided to just wing it.

"Chad, huh? That's a cool name. It suits you—'big macho man' and all. You're pretty awesome for taking that punch with no problem," Ichigo rambled, holding himself up and starting to trudge to the mouth of the alley through sheer willpower and wall-power, alone. The brick was rough on his bruised hands.

Sado walked next to Ichigo and looked to be watching for signs that the slighter teen needed assistance. They made it out onto the sidewalk and took a breath of fresh air.

Chad suddenly looked at something off to the side and began walking away, so Ichigo figured that was his cue to get home and headed off to the right.

"Thanks again for the help, Chad. You're a real cool dude; I'll see you at school!" Ichigo stumbled down the street and sent a lazy wave back to Chad from over a bloody and dirt-covered shoulder, not thinking to look back and see the other teen's head snap up in mild alarm.

* * *

Brown.

The color of his hair, and of his skin.

Sado was not interested in alley dealings, and yet something had inexplicably drawn him to the shuffling shadows and eerie echoes coming from further down the narrow pathway. At first, he couldn't see anything due to the stark contrast from the light of the sun to the darkness of the alley, but as he inched forward into the darkness he could make out about 10 men (with one seeming to be holding a pipe) standing around another man in a cheap suit. However, the man in the cheap suit was…. On the ground?

Despite being one of the tallest people in town and an obvious foreigner, Sado had the ability to remain mildly inconspicuous and undetected until he was right behind someone: due to this, Sado was able to stalk a bit closer to the group, and now he could finally fit together the last piece of the puzzle.

Before, he hadn't quite known what was going on or why some man in a suit was kneeling on the ground, but now he could make out the slim body being held underneath him. _Uh oh,_ Sado thought. Now that he knew of the problem at hand, he couldn't just walk away. He would just have to draw the group's attention away from the person underneath the man, and hopefully they would be able to escape while everyone was focused on him. Sado took a quiet breath in and set his hasty plan into motion.

"Hey," The large teen mumbled, stepping into the middle of the entrance to the alleyway and then walking closer. This caused his shadow to block out the light that had previously filtered into the backstreet entrance. All eyes were on him in an instant, and he subtly prepared himself for confrontation.

The suited man on the ground stood and confidently turned to face him; his features twisted into a sneer. Sado glanced at the lithe body that had been revealed now that the man's bulk wasn't covering it from sight. It was a boy his age—that much he could tell by the familiar uniform and the lanky build that it covered. The boy didn't seem to be moving very much, and that was a bit worrisome. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to examine the fallen teen's condition any further before the man in the suit was stepping up to him.

With a subtle hand gesture, he was blocked off from the street he had just come from.

"An' who migh' you be, hah? I'm a lil' busy righ' now, so make i' quick!" Were the garbled words that came out of his mouth. Sado had no idea how to answer that. The teen couldn't even tell what the man said; he was so utterly unprepared for the thick accent. It was almost impossible to understand with Sado just now getting used to speaking Japanese again, and so the bulky teen decided to save himself the effort and not answer, altogether. However, this didn't make the man very happy. As the silence stretched on, he could see multiple veins popping out of the guy's neck and forehead. Finally, the Yakuza reached behind him and pulled out a pair of brass knuckles from his pocket, "Heh, yah migh' wanna back away righ' now, kid. This's gonna _hurt_."

Sado understood that last part quite clearly but didn't particularly care about it. All he did was subtly brace himself as he saw the right hook swinging towards his face.

As pain throbbed through his skull from the left side of his jaw, he realized that if the boy laying nearly comatose on the ground couldn't get up and run away, then Sado's ramshackle plan would all go to hell, and he'd be here for a heck of a lot longer than he first expected.

Sado shook off the pain and, understandably, the man in front of him looked vaguely unsettled that he had taken the punch without any visible difficulty.

"Wha'… Wha's wrong with yah? Was tha' no' enough?" The suited man trembled faintly, most likely intimidated by his display. This didn't seem to stop him from continuing, however. Ridding himself of any noticeable weakness, the man once more reared back an arm with an angered look on his face.

Time slowed.

As Sado braced himself for another hit, a flash of burnt orange distracted him. To his astonishment, the boy that had been on the ground nearly unconscious just a moment ago was suddenly flying at the suited man's unprotected back. The large teen gawked for only a brief second before immediately evacuating the man's predicted flight path. Mere milliseconds after that, the smaller teen went feet-first into the older man's back and launched him right into his awaiting cronies at the mouth of the alley.

After causing a massive amount of mayhem in what must've amounted to about a net time of 3 seconds, the other teen casually arose from the crouch that he had landed in and chuckled darkly.

"…Strike," Came the raspy tenor of the teen before him. Then he groaned and hunched over a bit, grasping his upper abdomen and swallowing thickly. Sado took this moment to observe the teen before him.

A nearly burnt-orange color attracted his attention first, and the large teen realized that he had seen the boy's _hair_ when he had rushed to attack the man. It was quite unusual to see a hair color so outrageous in this area, but Sado knew that he looked quite a bit out of place, himself, so he couldn't really judge. Moving on, the teen once again noticed that the other boy was wearing the uniform of the school he had transferred to recently and had hope that he would find a friend in this strange boy. However, in noticing the uniform itself, Sado also took in the damage that had been done to it. The orange-haired teen obviously had a wound that was hurting his ribs, and his throat seemed to be bruised slightly. Beyond that was also a plethora of lacerations that cut through the black shirt underneath the boy's uniform: they were still bleeding sluggishly. Most worryingly, though, was the large amount of dried blood that ran down the back of the teen's head and under his collar. The larger teen winced, knowing that with such an injury to the back of the head, the other boy must be concussed badly.

Sado scooted closer to the other and watched as the smaller teen straightened (as much as he could, in such a condition), watching him warily.

Then, they locked eyes. Sado had only meant to check for dilated pupils—you know, concussions and all that—but then he got lost in warm, milk chocolate irises flecked with gold. The teen simply couldn't look away. However, the other boy soon broke the eye contact and stiffly moved to lean against the brick wall of the alley; he looked to be struggling quite a bit, but grinned (more feral and tired than amused) and seemed to lighten up when he turned to Sado and noticed that they were wearing the same uniform.

"Ah, thanks for the help. It looks like we're going to the same school, uh…?" The other boy brought up a hand to rub the back of his head, it clearly being a nervous habit, before flinching in pain and bringing it back down when he felt the large bump and the flakes of blood falling from his scalp. The orange-haired teen absent-mindedly wiped his hand on his pants, waiting for Sado answer the unasked question.

"Yasutora Sado," He answered, watching as the boy's eyes suddenly unfocused and became blurry. _That's a red flag if I've ever seen one,_ Sado thought with trepidation. _Is he even okay?_

The bulky teen's silent question was answered with the first word that came out of his new acquaintance's mouth.

"Chad, huh? That's a cool name. It suits you—'big macho man' and all. You're pretty awesome for taking that punch with no problem," The orange-haired teen's eyes now seemed very far away, and though 'Chad' (there was no point in correcting the other boy when he was like this) was flattered that he was cool in the other's eyes, he was more preoccupied with the fact that the lithe teen had jerkily turned and starting walked towards the street filled with _very fast cars_ that _wouldn't see him in time-!_

Sado quickly fell in step with the boy and made sure that the teen didn't walk right into oncoming traffic. It was then that the he realized the group of groaning men that lay in a heap on the sidewalk. The large teen pulled his phone out and called the police, stating that he had found some random men laying on the sidewalk and groaning in pain. The person on the other end thanked him for reporting to them, and then said goodbye. However, before the person on the other end hung up, Sado could hear a disgruntled voice in the background say something along the lines of, ' _Damn drunkards! That's the third time this week-!'_ as the line went dead.

Sado couldn't think much about the implications of that statement before he heard a newly-familiar voice call out to him from farther away than he last remembered it being.

"…see you at school!" Came the faint call from the orange-haired boy as he carelessly waved a hand over his shoulder and disappeared around a corner.

Sado speed-walked after the teen, incredibly worried about his ability to get all the way home in that state. However, after rounding the corner onto the street that he could've sworn the other boy had _just turned down,_ he wasn't there.

 _Dios mío,_ Chad thought, and hoped on his grandfather's coin that his new companion would make it home safely. The teen also couldn't help but wonder:

 _How the hell did someone with a concussion that bad move so fast?_

* * *

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the gate behind him and turned to face the Kurosaki clinic. He had managed to make it home, even though halfway through the walk he had almost collapsed right on the side of the road. His ears hadn't stopped ringing, and now his vision was starting to blacken at the edges. However, Ichigo figured that everything would be better once he woke up from the very long nap that was next on his schedule.

That's right, today was all going (roughly) according to the yearly plan. First, Goat-face wakes him up at an ungodly hour of the morning; then, he goes to school and suffers for a while. The ideal is to be back home as soon as possible so that he can rest before he must, finally, trudge through whatever event his sisters and father have cooked up for him that year.

The house is quiet and dark when he takes off his shoes in the entryway and peers into the living area. Is no one home? Ichigo's eyebrows come together in confusion, but he continues up the stairs, making his way to his room.

Once Ichigo has closed his bedroom door behind him and put down his school bag, he unthinkingly flops down on his bed. Predictably, this does not go well, and the orange-haired teen tries not to whimper as his body and all the wounds encompassing it are jostled.

He was going to feel awful later, he just knew it, but it was too much of a hassle to change out of his uniform now; even if it was caked in dirt and bodily fluids. _Gross_.

Staring at the ceiling as his body finally starts to relax and recover, Ichigo plans vehemently to take a shower as soon as he wakes up. His eyes slip closed, and he drifts off to sleep wondering about the tall teen that he had encountered earlier and the instincts to protect him that had revived him from his semi-conscious state.

In his dreams he is greeted with the cold of the falling rain, screaming, and the weight of his mistakes laying over him—crushing his lungs.

 _Happy Birthday to me…_

* * *

 **Oh boy this took way too long; my brain hurts.**

 **I hope that everything makes sense, lmao. If not just lemme know and I'll try to clear it up.**

 **There wasn't much ChadIchi in this chapter but I'm a slow-burn gal, so that's to be expected. However, I will be continuing this at some point, so maybe then I'll be able to redeem myself?**

 **Who knows.**

 **Anyway, did you notice that Ichigo's part of the story was not as detailed as Chad's? If you didn't then that's okay, but basically it's because his mental capacity became increasingly limited as his head wounds worsened. Poor boy, he already sucks at thinking and head wounds do not help in the slightest.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Ta-Ta!**


	2. Second Meetings Aren't too Bad, Really

Brown.

Curled locks of hair fell in front of Chad's eyes, obscuring his view.

Granted, the view wasn't very pretty, so perhaps it was for the best that the giant couldn't see anything.

The sound of metal hitting flesh could be heard echoing out from under one of the bridges going across the river in the middle of Karakura.

"Gh!" Chad doubled over as he was hit once again by a hand covered in brass knuckles. However, he couldn't go very far; he was held in place by the ropes that had tied his chest to the back of an old, dirty chair. It wasn't very comfortable, but Chad figured that such a thing was the least of his worries.

Brown.

"Why won't you just give up the tough guy act, already!" A man with mud-colored hair yelled indignantly, "I'm getting sick of this. Maybe I should just throw this useless thing into the river!"

Chad's eyes widened as the man before him brandished the cause of this entire situation: His abuelo's gold coin.

Chad had been walking back home from the store when he had been accosted by six grungy-looking men. The giant teen had assumed that they were the usual thugs that wanted to beat him up for looking foreign. Instead, the man that seemed to be the leader had walked right up to him and suddenly grabbed the chain hanging around his neck—yanking it right off. Chad was stunned into the strangled silence of inactivity. No one had ever done such a thing before, and his brain needed a moment to process what had just happened. Unfortunately, this gave the thugs the opportunity to form a barrier around him as the leader backed away with his most precious possession. The man with his coin told Chad that if he wanted it back, then he should let them wail on him until they were satisfied. Of course, Chad agreed. It was just like the usual, after all.

Now, this man was threatening to break that deal. Although it wasn't below them to do so, Chad had hoped that they would just beat him up, give him back the coin, and then leave. It seemed that wouldn't be the case. The large teen struggled to get out of his entanglement as the man reared back the arm with the coin and prepared to throw it.

Brown. The color of the dirt in the churning river in front of them.

Some of the ropes snapped from his frantic means to escape, but it wouldn't be enough to get the coin before it was lost to the watery depths.

Suddenly, there was the sound of rushing footsteps.

A blur slammed right into the leader before his arm could come forward, and his resulting tumble took out two of the people standing next to him. Whatever had slammed into the mud-haired man didn't even slow down before it was wrapping itself around the neck of a thug who was filming the beatdown on his phone. Then the blur flung itself backwards onto its hands and swung its legs down—the neck of the thug still between its thighs. As a result, the man was smashed into the ground face-first, and the blur finally paused a moment to gather itself.

Brown.

The light of the sun glinted off sunset-colored hair and chocolate eyes flecked with gold.

"Hey, Chad. Looks like you're in a bit of trouble, huh?" A confident smirk was spread across boyish features, and Chad straightened in shock. It was the teen he had meet a few days before summer started. He had been wondering whether the other had made it home alright but hadn't seen him again since the boy had disappeared around that corner about a week ago. Looks like he had worried for nothing, though. In fact, the smaller teen looked better than ever.

Chad figured that was probably because the boy wasn't beaten up and dealing with a concussion this time around.

As the two remaining thugs cried out in outrage, the orange-haired teen picked up the phone that had just been dropped and stopped the ongoing recording. He tapped a few buttons and then held the cell up to his ear.

"Hello, 911?" The lanky teen waited, listening for a moment. After a pause, his gaze took in the group of men in varying states of disarray, "How many ambulances? I'd say six, probably."

As the last pair of thugs stiffened in horror and turned to run away, the teen narrowed his eyes and launched himself after them; dropping the phone and the questioning voice of the operator.

They never stood a chance.

Once Ichigo was done with the two, Chad watched as the other boy stalked over to the leader of the group. The man was crawling on his hands and knees, trying to get away from the scowling kid. It was quite comical.

The orange-haired teen easily caught up with the man and mercilessly stomped on his back, deflating the leader like a balloon. Then, he pried the coin out of the man's grasp and cleaned it off with his shirt.

Chad found his gaze captured by the other's as the teen looked up and ambled toward him.

"This is yours, isn't it?" A light tenor spilled from pouty lips. Chad nodded, looking up in wonder. The orange-haired male had held out a hand with delicate-looking pianist fingers; cradled gently in his palm was the gold coin. The teen appeared to be waiting for Chad to take the coin, and then finally seemed to realize the giant's predicament, "Oh, uh, here. Let me help—" but before he could make a move, Chad grunted and all the ropes that had held him to the chair snapped at once. The tall teen groaned in pain as he stood and felt all his injuries ache in protest.

"Easy there, big guy," The orange-haired teen braced himself and held up his arms just in case Chad felt like falling over. "You alright?"

Chad took a moment to steady himself, and then glanced down so that he could make eye contact with the boy, "Yes, thank you," he mumbled. Then, he held up a large hand and gave the teen a thumbs up.

The other male stared in disbelief, and then shook his head in amusement, "You're really something else, Chad."

Ichigo brought the hand with the coin up again, and this time Chad was able to take it back and safely put it in his breast pocket. He would have to get another chain for it, though; the other one had been brutally broken.

Chad glanced down again when the lanky teen rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I just realized that I never introduced myself: I'm Kurosaki Ichigo," The boy grinned, and held out his hand to shake. Chad clasped his hand over the other's, completely enveloping it. _Ichigo,_ Chad thought with surprise, _what a cute name…_

Oblivious to Chad's thoughts, Ichigo pulled away a bit and glanced at where the coin was concealed in the pocket of the taller teen's shirt.

"If you don't mind my asking, why didn't you fight back against those guys? That coin seems important to you, and you had enough strength break out of the ropes to take all of them down, so why?" Ichigo questioned, his eyebrows furrowed, and head tilted in confusion. Chad sighed and put his hand over the coin in his pocket. It looked as though the giant was putting a hand over his heart.

"My abuelo made me promise—on this coin—that I would never selfishly fight in anger with these fists. He taught me patience," Chad's voice rumbled through the air between them, and the hand over his chest clenched into a fist, "He was the greatest man that I have ever known."

Ichigo had no idea what an abu-whatsit was, and it must have shown on his face, because Chad explained: "Abuelo is Spanish for grandfather," and then everything made more sense. The orange-haired teen's scowl softened in understanding.

"Yeah, he sounds like he was an awesome guy," Ichigo agreed sincerely. "What about this, then? I don't want to see you getting smacked around without at least doing something in retaliation, so why don't you raise your fists for me, instead of yourself? You fight for me, and I'll fight for you. That way we can both protect what we want, and those street rats can't walk all over you." After the last sentence, Ichigo grinned in triumph at his brilliant idea.

Chad once more found himself staring at the teen in wonder. Before his brain could even fully process the words, he was already agreeing. Ichigo's grin widened and he patted Chad on the arm (his shoulder was too high).

"It's a deal then, Chad!" To an outsider, it looked as though Ichigo was plotting the demise of an empire—what with his scrunched-up eyebrows and wicked grin—but Chad recognized the genuine excitement in his eyes, and it was incredibly endearing to see. The tall teen never would've thought that someone could ever be so happy at the idea of being his partner, and so his own gaze brightened considerably. Ichigo's grin slowly disappeared, though, as he looked down and saw the blood staining his new friend's shirt, "Hey, you need help patching up? My dad works in a clinic attached to our house, so I know a thing or two about treating wounds." Chad thought about it for a moment.

Before he could answer, the sound of sirens could be heard coming closer to their location.

Ichigo cursed and grabbed Chad's wrist, "Shit, the ambulances! Quick, my old man'll flay me alive if he has to bail me out of jail!" The giant's eyes widened comically as he was suddenly pulled along by this thin teen much shorter than he was. _Where the hell is all this strength coming from?_

Chad finally straightened out his footing and Ichigo let go of his arm as the giant sprinted next to him. The two locked gazes and Ichigo suddenly burst out laughing while Chad smiled to himself. They just formally met not 10 minutes ago, and now they were running from being questioned by the cops that were likely to be following the paramedics.

Chad figured this was probably some kind of precursor to how his friendship with Ichigo was going to go.

* * *

Ichigo finally slowed to a stop in front of a modern two-story house that did, indeed, have a glass-windowed clinic attached to it. Chad jogged up to him, amazed that he had fallen a little behind the lithe teen: Ichigo was quite a bit faster than the giant. Said teen turned to Chad with a blush of exertion dusting his cheeks, "Ah, sorry for just pulling you along all this way. I wasn't really thinking. You probably wanted to go home, huh?"

Chad was already shaking his head, "No, it is alright. There is not much for me there." Again, Ichigo seemed to understand without the taller teen having to say anything else. He just accepted it quietly and gestured for Chad to follow him into the clinic.

The inside of both the clinic and house was dark; not a single noise beside their own slight panting and light footfalls could be heard.

"I guess no one's home," Ichigo shrugged, "My dad must've taken my sisters out somewhere." Instead of asking about the lack of mentioning a mother, Chad decided to inquire about Ichigo's sisters. The teen looked relieved and launched into a conversation about his little sisters. There was Yuzu, who was a sweet little girl that took it upon herself to do most of the housework, and her twin Karin, a spitfire and tomboy who liked to play sports. They were about 4 years younger than he was, and Chad could tell without Ichigo having to say anything that the lithe teen seriously loved them.

As they talked about various inane topics ("What language do you think in; Spanish or Japanese?" "I honestly have no idea."), Ichigo expertly disinfected and wrapped Chad's wounds.

"Thank you, Ichigo. You are good at handling wounds," Chad rumbled quietly, tilting his head in deference. Ichigo lightly flushed at the praise and seemed to fidget for a moment, unsure how to respond.

"A-Aa, no problem, Chad. That's what friends do, right?" Ichigo smiled shakily, and now it was Chad's turn to blush. Hearing Ichigo call them friends was very pleasing. "Do you want to exchange numbers? It would make it easier to get in contact with you," Ichigo suggested, rubbing the back of his neck and looking out at the darkening sky.

"Yes, that would be a good idea," Chad agreed as they exchanged phones and input their contact info. The giant teen hadn't even realized it was getting so late that the sun had started to set, but he couldn't find it in himself to care, because the sky was turning orange, and it cast an other-worldly glow over Ichigo's features. His hair looked like fire itself, and his eyes seemed to emit their own golden light.

Chad had to force himself to focus, and he thanked Ichigo again as they both made their way to the front door.

"Perhaps I should host _you_ the next time we meet?" Came Chad's deep baritone as he stepped onto the walkway outside. Ichigo smirked at him from his spot leaning on the door frame.

"Sounds like a plan," The teen replied, and waved Chad off. He didn't go back inside until the giant male had disappeared down the street.

Ichigo sighed and closed the door behind him. Now he was reminded of all the homework he had to get done, and he couldn't hold back a groan of annoyance. Even though it was summer, he just couldn't catch a break.

The teen grabbed his bag from his room and then seated himself at the kitchen table: Ichigo liked the atmosphere and openness of the living room better than his own room, sometimes.

But that was only when Isshin wasn't there it was quiet.

Ichigo really wasn't a sit-down-and-work-for-hours kind of guy—though he's sure no teen really was—but even though it was excruciating, he managed to finish the math packet and book that he was assigned for his summer work.

The orange-haired teen planted his arms on the table and used them to pillow his head. It was incredibly satisfying to have all his summer work out of the way. No need to worry about it, anymore.

The summer heat soothed his tense muscles, and Ichigo's lids fell over his eyes. He would just rest for a moment, because he had been looking at the small print of his book for the past two hours. _That's right… just a short resting of the eyes,_ Ichigo thought slowly as he drifted into a world of salt-scented air, and wavy orange hair—so much like his own—enveloping him in an untouchable cocoon of smiles and laughter, the sound of waves crashing on the shore in the background.

A gentle breeze came through the open window, ruffling soft, orange locks of hair. Quiet, even breaths escaped from parted lips, and Ichigo's stone-cold features finally melted away to reveal the child underneath.

* * *

The front door of the Kurosaki household was thrown open approximately 3 hours after Ichigo had succumbed to the idea of resting his eyes.

"We're home, my delinquent son!" Isshin Kurosaki shouted as he held open the door for his two daughters to pass by with their arms full of candy, random toys, and stuffed animals.

The Kurosaki family—minus Ichigo, of course—had just gone to the fair that had been set up a few days ago near the outskirts of town. Karin and Yuzu had asked why Ichigo didn't come with them, but Isshin had only responded that Ichigo would've just ruined all the fun with his sour expressions. When the twins weren't satisfied with that statement, he then told them that their brother was getting hormonal and probably wouldn't want to go to a fair that he must consider 'too childish'. The twins seemed saddened that their brother didn't seem to want to spend time with them, but they forgot about such things as they laughed and cheered at all the activities to be done at the fair.

It was only when Yuzu and Karin started to become too tired to walk that the three headed home.

Isshin closed and locked the door behind them for the night and stomped his way to the bottom of the stairs, about to shout again to get his son's attention. _Ichigo should greet us properly when we've just come home!_ The man huffed. However, Yuzu peeked around the doorway to the living room and put a finger to her lips.

"Shh! Ichi-nii is sleeping, you shouldn't wake him, daddy!" The little girl chided. Isshin ruffled his darling's hair as he walked past her into the living room.

"My lazy son must be woken so he can welcome his precious family home!" The burly man cried.

Ichigo seemed to twitch, and his eyebrows furrowed. He burrowed further into his arms and made a soft protesting noise, almost as if he was trying to stop himself from waking. Karin and Yuzu practically melted at the sight, but Isshin puffed his chest out indignantly and marched over to the teen. The black-haired twin leveled a glare at her father.

"Oi, goat-face, chill out and let him sleep! He's been super tired lately because of the job that _you_ made him get!" Karin raised her voice in irritation and brandished a fist menacingly.

"No son of mine will slack off just because it's summer!" Isshin shouted as he reached the chair that Ichigo was sleeping on. Their arguing finally woke Ichigo up as the boy quickly jumped to his feet and whirled around. The chair clattered to the ground and Ichigo fixed wild, unfocused eyes on his father. The teen managed to dodge the first grab made for his arm, but due to the extreme disorientation of waking up to immediate action, he couldn't get away from the hand that fisted in his shirt collar. "What are you doing, my rambunctious offspring? Daddy just needed to wake you so that you could welcome us home and then get your lazy self to bed!"

"D-Dad? Wha-!" Ichigo managed to calm down enough to recognize where he was and who had woken him up, but before he could do anything else Isshin tightened the grip on his shirt and threw him into the kitchen counters. Ichigo coughed as his back cracked a bit against the marble and hard wood of the cabinets. The teen then slid onto the ground right onto his shoulder, "What the hell is wrong with you, you old coot?" Ichigo shouted hoarsely as he lifted his upper-half off the floor with a harsh glare directed towards his father.

Isshin walked over and loomed over his son, his arms crossed and his large frame blocking out the overhead light, "Oh my poor, poor Ichigo. You've forgotten your basic manners! Now," Here, Isshin's countenance darkened, and Ichigo suddenly felt very, very small, "welcome your sisters and I home."

Ichigo rubbed his sore shoulder as shifted his legs under him and kneeled on the floor. The teen's lips thinned, and he turned his head to the side—his eyes shifting to the floor.

"Welcome home; Pop, Karin, Yuzu," Ichigo spoke tonelessly.

Isshin put his hands on his hips triumphantly and a wide smile spread across his face, "Very good, my son! Looks like you didn't forget your manners after all! You may go up to your room, now." Ichigo swiftly got to his feet and stalked past his father. He paused in the doorway to the stairs, seeming to finally realize that there were other people in the room.

"Goodnight Karin, Yuzu," Ichigo spoke softly, taking in the tired-but-overall-sated look on their faces. His gaze shifted to the various kick-knacks that they were holding: Cute stuffed animals and many types of colorful candy filled their arms. _Ah, they must've gone to the fair,_ Ichigo thought dispassionately. His sisters watched with some trepidation as his eyes seemed to dull and darken, but quietly called a goodnight back to their brother.

Ichigo went around the corner and up the stairs without a second glance.

Once she figured that her brother had gone into his room, Karin rounded on their father.

"You stupid idiot! Look at what you did!" The 10-year-old then proceeded to kick her large father in the shin, as it was the only thing she could effectively reach.

"Ow! Karin-chan, please don't hurt daddy!" Isshin cried as he crawled away from his cute little menace.

"Karin, you shouldn't kick daddy," At this Isshin sobbed in relief and spread his arms in the direction of his sweet Yuzu, "but you should apologize to Ichi-nii, tou-san!" The man immediately shrunk away from her and dragged himself over to the large photo of his deceased wife.

"My dear Masaki, our children don't love me anymore; what am I to do without your guidance?" The grown man wailed as he slumped against the wall.

* * *

Ichigo listened, the commotion downstairs finally subsiding as the twins made haste towards their room. Now, only Isshin's quiet sobs were left. The orange-haired teen turned bleary eyes towards his alarm clock. _It's 11:30 p.m.?_ Ichigo groaned and turned onto his side, only to wince as he jostled his hurt shoulder. _Great. I can't sleep on my back_ or _my right side,_ the teen griped as he turned to face the rest of the room. _Now my left side will be sore in the morning because it's the only thing I can sleep on, and this mattress is older than I am._

Ichigo clenched his eyes shut and stopped his train of thought in its tracks. Now the teen just sounded whiny and pathetic, and he hated to sound that way even in his own mind.

Despite all that just happened, and the abysmal way that Ichigo had been awoken from sleep thirty minutes ago, the teen tried once more to fall into unconsciousness. Unfortunately, he needed to feel as though he was in a stable environment to be able to relax, and so sleep eluded him.

Instead of the merciful reprieve of a dream that made no sense, Ichigo was treated to memories of laughter and balloon animals. A smile so beautiful that it lit up the world around him; so kind that he always wanted to see it. He remembered doing his best with the ring-tosses and the goldfish-catching so that he could win prizes for her. For his mother. His world. The fair on the outskirts of town that the Kurosaki family went to every year used to be one of his favorite places, because having little Yuzu and Karin stumbling around and his father and mother laughing together made his heart swell in happiness. He remembered feeling as if he couldn't possibly contain so much joy in his small body, so he shared it with his family as well. He smiled as much as possible, all the time. His mother even smiled back at him! Ichigo knew he had to be doing it right, if that was the case.

Then, he had ruined it. Just like he ruined everything else.

 _He didn't go to the fair on the year of his ninth birthday._

* * *

As Chad lay awake the night after meeting Ichigo for the second time, he wondered what his new friends was doing. He wondered about Ichigo's family, too. The lithe teen had really seemed to love his sisters, and Chad had to admit that he was also curious about the other's father. Did they eat breakfast together in the morning, or watch movies after eating dinner? Were Yuzu and Karin tucked in at night? It must've been a warm and happy place, Chad figured.

The gentle giant couldn't wait to see him again. He finally had someone to talk to in Karakura, and it was such an interesting boy. He'd never met anyone like Ichigo before; that much he could tell after meeting the teen for the very first time. Their second encounter only cemented the fact in his mind.

Finally, Chad closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The sight of Ichigo running ahead of him came into existence. The teen looked over his shoulder and smiled so brightly at him that Chad felt as though he had just stood in the sun for an entire day and yet hadn't gotten burned. There was a bright blush on the boy's face that was in stark contrast with his hair.

Chad really liked this dream.

Suddenly, Ichigo stumbled. Chad wondered what the problem was as he jogged up to the smaller teen.

Ichigo crumpled to the ground before Chad could catch him, and as the large teen knelt in worry, he could see a large bruise forming along the other's spine where his shirt had ridden up during the fall. Chad was now very concerned, and he pulled the boy up to rest his forehead on the larger teen's shoulder so that he could get a better look. Then, Ichigo groaned softly, and Chad could see another purple bruise blossoming on his friend's right shoulder.

Ichigo started shaking in Chad's arms, and the larger teen could feel cold drops of water start to fall around him. _It's…raining?_ Chad realized, eyes widening. Then, in stark contrast to the sudden downpour, the body in his arms started becoming scorching-hot.

Chad looked down and visibly paled. The bruises on Ichigo's skin had gone from a normal, discolored purple to a burnt-looking black, and it was beginning to spread. Like an old reel of film that was set on fire, Chad watched as Ichigo disintegrated right in front of his eyes.

It was beyond unsettling and the giant teen woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily.

There was no way he was going to bed, now.

* * *

 **Will I always end my chapters with sleep? Idk, will I ever stop writing these entire chapters in one day while longing for the blissful darkness myself? Not even god himself can say.**

 **I don't know if any of you were here back in the day when I still had my other two fanfics posted (One Piece and Blue Exorcist: god, what dark times) but they were pretty morbid. Now, this isn't going to be nearly as bad (or cringe-worthy) but I want it to reflect real fears and problems that the Bleach kids should've had instead of… what they actually worried about? Idk man. Sometimes they just went against their prior character development, I think.**

 **I'm getting down and dirty, and nothing is going to get in my way.**

 **Anyhow** **, I think I know where I'm going with this shit-storm, so stay-tuned.**


	3. A Year Can Pass in the Blink of an Eye

The heat of the afternoon sun bore down on Ichigo's exposed back and sweat darkened the teen's hair as he balanced on his knees and the balls of his feet. His right arm raised and lowered methodically; the sound of hammering echoed down the street.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ichigo rocked back onto his heels and surveyed his work. The weak roof tiles of his client's house were fully replaced, and now they should have no problem with any leaks or drafts. Ichigo grabbed the tool box that had been provided by his boss, and skillfully climbed down the side of the house. Mrs. Nakamura—the kind old lady who had called for his service—was waiting for him on her porch. She held out a cold glass of lemonade, and the teen quickly pulled on his white work t-shirt before gratefully gulping down the offered drink.

"Thank you for the refreshment, Nakamura-san," Ichigo grinned, letting the woman take the now-empty glass back from his aching hands. "I've finished replacing the tiles on your roof, so you shouldn't be waking up to puddles on the floor after a storm, anymore. If you do then don't hesitate to let Unagiya-san know, and we'll fix them again—free of charge."

The old woman smiled brightly, "Why thank you, young man! You're very dependable, I have no worries that I'll need to call about any leaks. Send my regards to your boss and have a nice day!" Mrs. Nakamura handed him an envelope filled with his payment and then waved him off as he walked to the front gate.

"It's no problem, Nakamura-san. I will tell Unagiya-san that you said hello, and I hope you have a nice day, as well!" Ichigo called out, heading down the street and waving behind his shoulder.

As the teen walked out the cramps in his legs on the way back to his job, he thought back on the past 12 months.

A year had gone by since his first meeting with Chad—the summer after his second year of middle school—and their friendship had gone a long way since then. A week after cleaning Chad's wounds from his tussle under the bridge, the giant had texted Ichigo and asked if he wanted to hang out. The orange-haired teen hadn't even hesitated to agree.

Ichigo found out that Chad was living in an apartment, all by himself, about a 20-minute walk from the clinic. The large teen didn't seem to be bothered by his lack of housemates, but Ichigo resolved to never let his new friend feel lonely if he could help it.

They were a perfect match: Ichigo finally got some peace and quiet, while Chad could let someone else do the talking. In fact, Chad rather liked to hear the lithe teen speak; his tenor filled the giant's empty apartment with warmth. After finding out that they both played guitar, the two teens delighted in practicing with each other, and Chad was even more entranced to find out that the other teen sang as well. It took a lot of quiet (but intense) convincing from Chad before Ichigo finally conceded to sing him a song. The giant teen had watched as, red-faced, Ichigo softened his voice and glided through a beautiful melody. It was one of the most incredible things that Chad had ever heard, and it seemed like he conveyed as much through his eyes, because when Ichigo had looked up at him after singing the last note, he had immediately ducked his head and brought up a hand to rub shyly at the back of his neck.

The days they spent with each other were filled with quiet amusement, and the nights with hushed contemplation. Neither were very loud, and that was just fine with them.

Weirdly enough, however, Ichigo had started having dreams about Chad two days after he had gone to the giant's house for the first time. They weren't normal ones, either.

Usually, dreams are jumbled up memories of places and things that someone has already experienced, but Ichigo swore he had never experienced anything like the city he often found himself in when he fell asleep. It was arid, crowded, and filled with smoke; closed in by the mountains around it. In these dreams, Chad was much younger, and almost always covered in bruises. His silence was strangled instead of peaceful, and he picked fights with any faceless thug that crossed him. Ichigo nearly got whiplash from how different this version of his friend was. The only similarities that could be found between the Chad that Ichigo knew and the Chad in his dreams, was the quiet strength that seemed to emanate from the male. Ichigo had stewed over these strange dreams for two months. During this time, there were no significant changes to what the lithe teen witnessed: alley fights, dusty streets, and the perpetual toxic fog that settled over the city like a blanket. Then, on the third month of having these consistent dreams of his friend, Ichigo met someone unusual.

* * *

Ichigo watched as dream Chad took down another group of street rats in the back of an alley. The young boy was panting with anger and exertion, fists clenched tightly. The last thug had already fallen a while ago, and it worried Ichigo to see his friend so shaken. However, nearly right out of the fog, an incredibly tall and muscular old man walked up to the boy and settled a hand on his shoulder. Chad turned around with wide eyes, and then calmed immediately upon seeing who was behind him. Ichigo took careful note of this, because anyone who was trusted by Chad was incredibly important.

Curious, Ichigo walked closer to get a good look at the newcomer.

A strong but kind face, a bushy, white mustache, a newsboy cap that hid the man's eyes, and a pair of suspenders adorned the man's body. The orange-haired teen was fascinated. He watched as the man chastised Chad for fighting selfishly and told him to instead use his large fists for good. There was a niggling feeling in the back of Ichigo's head that the scenario seemed awfully familiar, and then it clicked into place when he saw the old man give his necklace to Chad: It was the same golden coin on a chain that Ichigo's friend treasured more than anything else. The orange-haired teen realized that Chad had told him about this same scenario a while back. Terrifyingly enough, however, once Ichigo made the connection the old man's head had slowly turned his way. Immediately, Ichigo started to sweat nervously. A sickly yellow eye peered out at him from the dark shadow that the cap cast over the man's face.

"So, you've figured it out, have you?" The deep baritone filled his head, and Ichigo backed away slowly. The teen panicked; no one had ever acknowledged his presence during the entire two months that he had been having dreams of the mysterious city. "There is no need for alarm. I am Oscar Joaquín de la Rosa, but you may know me better as Sado's abuelo."

Ichigo, understandably, was not entirely calmed by la Rosa's words.

"You… you're Chad's grandpa? You seem so real, this isn't like a dream at all." The orange-haired teen's brows furrowed, eyes scrutinizing the man in front of him, "What are you doing here?"

The old man's demeanor seemed to lessen in severity when Ichigo naively tilted his head in confusion.

"Ah, niño pequeño, it's a wonder why you think this is even a dream in the first place," Came the gravelly, but not unkind, response. He sighed when Ichigo merely scrunched his face up further. "The real question is what _you_ are doing _here_ , Ichigo."

All the teen's defenses dropped, he had no idea what was going on, "What does that even mean, isn't this just a figment of my imagination?" Ichigo stiffened once more when he registered what else the man had said. "How do you know my name?"

The shaded streets of the city promptly darkened to an apocalyptic red, and the figure of Chad's grandfather seemed to grow larger. The old man slowly turned to face the teen completely, and his glowing, pale yellow gaze burned through the shadows. "Surely it would make sense for everyone to know your name in your own dream, yes?"

Ichigo backed away as the tall, bulky man stalked closer. The teen jerked as his back hit the hard wall of the alley behind him. There was no escape. "I-I don't know… If this isn't a dream, then what could it be?"

At this, la Rosa halted his advance.

"You and Sado are now irrevocably entwined together. When meeting him for the first time, the both of you connected on a deep level that is nigh unheard of. Ichigo, you awakened Sado's soul—" La Rosa's next words were lost in the scream that erupted from behind him. Startled, Ichigo slid out from behind the old man's large frame and took in the scene in front of him.

The young version of Chad, nearly forgotten, was sitting on his knees and staring at his wet hands. Ichigo was immensely confused: everything was tinted red, so it was hard to tell what was on the boy's hands—oh. Oh. In growing horror, the orange-haired teen noticed that more bodies than just the downed thugs' started piling up around them. The streets were covered in the fluid that was pouring out of them.

Ichigo kind of wanted to scream, himself.

Instead, the lithe teen ran to his friend's side and got onto his knees beside him, "Chad… Chad! It's fine, it'll be okay!" Chad turned his head and peered up at Ichigo with wide eyes. In turn, the teen tried to reassuringly pat his friend on the shoulder. Unfortunately, instead of everything returning to normal the perpetual smog of the city lowered to cover the ground, and shrouded everything in a noxious, red-tinted veil. Ichigo could barely see Chad, who was not even a foot in front of him.

"You must understand, Ichigo; you and Sado are more alike than you may think," Came the rough voice of Chad's abuelo, from directly behind him. Ichigo nearly screeched in fright but managed to contain himself and instead turned to look the man in the eye. La Rosa's pale-yellow irises were the only clearly visible part of him. They glowed sickeningly in the dim surroundings. "This is not a dream. It is the world that resides in Sado's soul, chico," The old man explained. Unfortunately, Ichigo did not understand what la Rosa meant.

"Everything will make sense soon enough," Were the last words that the orange-haired teen heard from the weird, old man as everything faded to black and he woke up in a cold sweat on Chad's bedroom floor. Chad was only four feet away on another futon and looked to be settling down from a nightmare of his own.

Defeated, Ichigo laid awake the rest of the night.

He would not deal with that toxic city nor Oscar Joaquín de la Rosa again for a long time.

* * *

Now, it had been ten months since Ichigo experienced that strange nightmare. He was still consistently dreaming about his friend, but no longer was it of unfamiliar faces and people. Currently, it was just visions of he and Chad hanging out in the park, at a café, or at each other's houses.

Simple, light-hearted stuff that didn't add to Ichigo's already-fucked-up sleep cycles.

Ichigo turned right onto the street that housed his workplace. Never had he been so happy to see the sign of Unagiya's odd-job services; his whole body was incredibly sore from doing four non-stop hours of work on a hot, summer day. Sometimes he wished that Isshin hadn't signed him up for such a demanding job without his consent. It was even illegal for him to be working, and they were lying to the boss about his age. However, it paid well for his needs and the owner was lenient, so he couldn't really complain. Even if Goat-Face was forcing him to help pay the bills by getting a job ("It'll make you into a responsible young adult, my son!") it was a nice excuse to stay away from the enigmatic man, anyway.

The lithe teen trudged up the stairs of the small building, lugging the toolbox behind him. He used a spare key to unlock the door, and let it softly shut behind him. It felt eerily silent in the place compared to the usual noise, and that's when Ichigo remembered that Unagiya-san was running errands with her son. _Well, that explains why it's so quiet,_ Ichigo thought, heading to the rooms in the back of the building. He was glad that the boss allowed him to use her extra utilities. The jobs were so physically demanding sometimes that he couldn't, in good conscience, grace the public with his presence without taking a shower. He didn't like walking home feeling as if he'd just swapped occupations with a pig farmer.

So, yeah.

Shower: Clean, feels good. Change into comfy clothes: Nice, icing on the cake.

After scrubbing away his aches and pains with a pink loofah (provided by his boss) and strawberry-scented shampoo/body-wash (…also provided by his boss), Ichigo tidied up the bathroom and the office-space where they took costumers. The teen figured it would be the nice thing to do, because his boss was always too busy to properly organize everything.

…It might also get him a bit of extra money for a day at the arcade with Chad: his friend deserved to be treated to something fun.

Once the teen was done cleaning up, he sat down on the couch they had near the door and finished drying off his hair with the orange towel around his neck (his boss really was such a… jokester). Ichigo left the towel draped over his head and relaxed into the cushions. His worries melted away as the black leather of Unagiya's couch sucked him into the abyss.

Ichigo had felt so harassed the past week because his first day of high school was Monday, and Isshin just would not stop pestering him about it. The man's attacks had been getting more frequent, underhanded, and damaging; Ichigo was impressed he hadn't snapped yet and just thrown the goat-face into oncoming traffic.

None of that mattered, however, because right then Ichigo was settling onto his side and resting his head on the armrest of the couch. _Ah, gotta wait for Unagiya-san to come back… to confirm that... the job... was done… can't sleep now..._ Were the teen's last coherent thoughts before he curled up, unconsciously bringing his knees up to his chest for warmth.

* * *

Unagiya Ikumi smiled gently at her son as they walked up the stairs to the front door of her house/office, "Did you enjoy the fair, Kaoru?" The boy held up the stuffed koi fish that he had won at one of the stalls and beamed.

"Yes, mama!"

Ikumi nodded, convinced, and reached for the door handle. _It's unlocked?_ The woman thought confusedly, _there's no way Ichigo could've finished all his jobs so fast, right?_ She pulled the door open cautiously, and peered in. Her eyes widened in surprise when she noticed that the living room was sparkling clean, and all the papers that had been scattered across the kitchen table were put into neat piles. Thoroughly pleased, Ikumi walked in and closed the door behind her son, ready to praise her employee for his hard work. The odd-jobs owner turned to face the room and froze at the sight that greeted her.

"Kaa-san?" Kaoru asked, wondering why his mother had suddenly stopped right in front of him. He stepped out from behind her and followed her gaze to the couch.

There, laying in a loose fetal position on the black, leather cushions, was Kurosaki Ichigo.

Ikumi practically squealed with delight, a satisfied flush coming to her cheeks. "Shh, don't wake him Kaoru, sweetie: Ichi-nii is probably very tired. Why don't you go play with your new toy?" The woman whispered, guiding her son out of the room and closing the door to the hall behind him. Then, she quickly fumbled to grab the camera she always left on the table and settled closer to the young boy. _He lowered his guard, yes!_ There was the quick shutter of a camera as Ikumi took a photo of the first time she had ever seen her young charge so relaxed during the entire year that she'd known Ichigo. The sound of the camera going off must've roused the teen a bit, because he scrunched up his nose. _So cute!_ The mother thought, quickly bringing up her camera to capture that moment as well. This time, Ichigo curled in on himself a little more, and dragged a hand up to his face to hide behind a little bit. The pleased flush on the shop-owner's face deepened and more photos were taken. Just when Ikumi thought it couldn't get any better, the orange-haired teen breathed out lightly and nibbled gently on the knuckle of the hand that he brought up to his face.

A high-pitched 'kya' resounded throughout the room, followed by the sound of the camera going off. Unfortunately, her fascination was Unagiya's downfall, as the loud noise woke Ichigo up completely. The boy's scowl firmly settled into place, and he sat up while groggily rubbing his eyes. Ikumi had already evacuated to the other side of the room and tried to look casual as she safely put away the camera in a drawer.

"Good morning, Ichigo! Sleep well?" The woman taunted, pasting a cocky smirk on her face. Ichigo's scowl deepened momentarily with mild confusion, but then he seemed to remember what he was trying to do before he passed out.

"Oh, it's you, Unagiya-san. I didn't mean to fall asleep on the couch. I was waiting for you to come back so that I could reliably deliver the payment I received today," The fiery-haired youth grumbled, still trying to rid himself of the lingering effects of his nap. Ikumi used his distraction to compose herself in the aftermath of the images that had assaulted her mind at her employee's words. The idea of Ichigo waiting patiently for her, but being unable to resist the pull of sleep, was just too adorable. It reminded her of a puppy waiting for their owner to come home, tail and ears drooping in exhaustion as the minutes ticked by. The woman cleared her throat roughly.

"It's quite alright, Ichigo. I'm impressed you managed to get all your work done in so little time, I think you deserve a little rest," Ikumi smiled reassuringly, walking over to the couch and gently ruffling the teen's hair. The smell of strawberries wafted up to her nose, and her smile turned teasing, "The shampoo suits you."

Ichigo growled as he pushed away his boss's hand and stood up, trying to fix his crazy spikes, "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, here's the payment from all six jobs, I gotta go home." The teen grabbed a bag by the couch that held his dirty work clothes and tiredly stumbled to the door.

"Text me when you get home so I can let you know your earnings for today, okay?" Ikumi spoke firmly, hands on her hips.

"Okay…" The teen yawned, waving to her without turning around, and opened the door. Ichigo swung the bag over his shoulders and disappeared down the stairs.

After the lock clicked shut in her employee's wake, Ikumi deflated. _Just what am I going to do with you, boy?_ The woman thought worriedly, pondering over just how exhausted Ichigo seemed to look. Honestly, she was surprised she hadn't found him passed out on her couch before this. He worked himself too hard, and Ikumi figured it was pure willpower that was keeping the lithe teen on his feet during the day.

Truthfully, the woman wanted Ichigo to text her so she could know that the boy had just made it home safely. There was no logical reason for her to worry—Ichigo was quite strong and capable—but her mother's intuition always sent her red alerts whenever the young employee was out of her sight.

And her instincts as a mother had never failed her, before.

* * *

Ichigo stumbled down the pathway to his front door, exhausted and ready to take a long nap. His small bout of shut-eye on Unagiya's couch had been more trouble than it was worth. Now, the teen was groggier than before, and the awkward sleeping position had caused a crick in his neck.

Rubbing an eye with the back of his knuckles, Ichigo opened the front door and stepped inside.

"I'm home," the lithe teen called out while toeing off his shoes. He turned to face the rest of the house and was greeted to a foot in the sternum, "Guh!" All the air was pushed out of Ichigo's lungs in one move, and his chest muscles spasmed. There was a moment in which the teen simply couldn't get his lungs to move and take in a breath.

Ichigo fell back into the door, disoriented from the sudden rush of adrenaline that flooded his body. Usually such a thing would give him the boost he needed to finish a fight, but paired with his exhaustion and shock, only caused his body to become limp. A flight response instead of the usual fight.

"Welcome home, my son! How was your job? I'm sure you worked hard again, today. I'm so proud," Isshin gushed, bringing his leg down and straightening up, "and yet oh-so disappointed, Ichigo." The man walked up to the slouched form of his son and kneeled in front of him. "Why didn't you dodge that? Is something the matter, my boy?"

 _Ah,_ Ichigo thought despondently, _guess I was more out of it than I thought._

The orange-haired teen berated himself for forgetting about Isshin's new type of surprise attack. They had started just last week and were meant to 'prepare him for the dangers of high school'. Basically, the difference between the man's regular attacks and these new ones was the fact that Isshin didn't announce himself in any way. Horrifyingly, Ichigo's father could be silent even when in the middle of executing an attack. As such, the teen had somewhat learned to 'feel' when someone was going to strike at him.

Turns out that newfound ability doesn't work very well if he's too tired.

"Everything's fine, Goat-face," Ichigo grunted, pulling himself upright with the assistance of the wall behind him, "I was just a bit distracted." Isshin swooped in and wrapped his arms around his son's middle. The teen struggled to get out of the man's bear hold.

"Oh, my poor, delinquent son: Have I taught you nothing? You must _always_ be on your guard," The older Kurosaki continued, proceeding to throw Ichigo over his shoulder. The teen protested, using his elbows and fists to beat against his father's back, but that didn't stop the man from reopening the front door and tossing him back out onto the cement pathway leading to the house. "Here, let's try this again! It won't be the same because it's not quite a surprise, but it's the thought that counts!" And with that, the front door slammed shut.

Ichigo pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing as the aftershocks of hitting the concrete washed over him. He gathered himself quickly, rubbing his arms and secretly relishing in the human warmth that lingered on his body from his brief contact with Isshin's own furnace-like skin. These days, even though he still perspired under the summer heat, his core still felt so very cold. Frozen solid, even. The frost only seemed to melt with the help of other's body heat. Ichigo didn't understand what was going on or why it was happening, but it constantly caused him grief.

Thankfully, Isshin provided a reprieve whenever they were close enough. For this reason, Ichigo somewhat appreciated the goat face's strange displays of affection: Bruises and scrapes where familiar and inconsequential to him, but the cold was unbearable. The teen didn't mind the choke holds and the brief, crushing hugs before being thrown if Isshin would just spare a bit of the limitless heat that seemed to emanate from him.

Ichigo stumbled to his feet and tried to shake off the lingering exhaustion. It didn't work, naturally, but it gave the teen the confidence to make his way to the door and get rid of the cold the only way he knew how.

* * *

Chad sat on the living room floor of his quiet apartment, working on the homework that had been assigned over the summer. It was mostly a review of what he had learned in middle school, but there were hints of harder material that would be taught in his first year of high school. The monotony of solving equations over and over again, however, soon caused the teen's mind to wander.

Naturally, his thoughts drifted to the fiery young teen that had captured his attention from day one. It was with fondness that Chad recalled his first run-in with Ichigo, and all the moments they'd experienced together since then. One moment stood out starkly against the warm haze of their friendship, though: The two had ended up in the same class, luckily, after meeting the summer before their second year of middle school. Chad had been very pleased to see his friend's bright head of hair when he walked into the room filled with the low murmurs of young teens. Ichigo had immediately taken notice of him, as well, and they converged in the middle of the classroom to chat for a bit before homeroom started. Roll had been called and the students directed to their assigned seats. What had amused Chad, however, was the shocked look Ichigo had given him when the giant teen responded to the call of 'Yasutora Sado' from the teacher. The orange-haired teen had been forced to turn back around lest he draw attention to himself, but his eyes said that they would talk about it later.

After class Ichigo had stepped up to him, flushed slightly in embarrassment. "You didn't tell me your name was Sado! Why did you let me call you Chad this entire time? I don't even remember calling you that in the first place," He griped, putting his head in his hands.

Chad had only let out a small chuckle, "It grew on me." Then, a half-hearted shrug of large shoulders, "You weren't exactly in the right state of mind, anyway." Ichigo had peeked up at him through a gap in his fingers and, seeing the glint of amusement in his friend's visible eye, groaned tiredly and closed his fingers again.

Chad had cataloged that moment deep in his mind. Not because Ichigo had melted him on the inside with his pink cheeks and the embarrassed look in golden-flecked, chocolate eyes. No, it was for… some other reason, probably.

Something else stood out to the tall teen, however: That interesting dream about Ichigo burning away in his arms the night after they had met for the second time was only the start to a long line of similar instances. Luckily not all these dreams were of the same horrifying standard, but there always seemed to be an underlying theme to them.

For instance, one night had Chad spending his time with Ichigo on a sunny beach. The waves were a gentle lull in the background, and the sun seemed to kiss his friend's tan skin. After a particularly strong breeze blew by, Ichigo stretched and stood up. He smiled, beckoning Chad to join him for a swim. The large teen had no reason to refuse and figured getting in the ocean would be refreshing.

* * *

The two walked to the water, Ichigo taking the lead. However, instead of sinking under the waves, the lithe teen's feet had stepped on top of them as if they were solid. Surprised but not thinking anything of it, Chad cautiously followed. His feet also stayed above the water, and awe ruled out his suspicions as he followed Ichigo away from the beach.

Soon enough, the shore became a distant blip on the horizon.

Ichigo suddenly decided to stop, and Chad waited a few feet behind him—wondering what they were doing. Ripples spread out from where Ichigo planted his feet on the surface of the water, and they grew larger the further away from him they traveled. From where the larger teen was standing, the ripples weren't even close to the bottom of his red trunks, but with a glance behind him Chad saw that the ripples eventually formed monstrous waves about five times his size. Thoroughly confused, the dark-skinned teen took a step toward Ichigo's back and reached out. Before he could get very close, though, the tops of concrete buildings burst out from the disturbed surface of the ocean around them and continued to grow towards the sky. Looking down at the solid layer of water beneath him, Chad noticed something unusual. The surface of the water looked like that of a mirror, and he could almost perfectly see his features even through the distortion.

When observing Ichigo's reflection, his skin seemed to be very pale. White, even.

Worried, Chad closed the distance between himself and the orange-haired teen, enclosing his shoulder with a firm grip. _It's… cold?_ The giant tried to observe his friend's facial expression in the window of the skyscraper that had emerged from the ripples of water in front of them. Golden eyes surrounded in a void of black greeted his gaze.

Chad jerked back out of instinct. He couldn't seem to look away from that piercing stare; it rooted him in place.

Soon though, the giant teen began to take in the larger picture: pale skin, white hair, and dark red trunks the opposite of Ichigo's own made up the inverted reflection in the window. Chad had to do a double-take. There, in the middle of the inverted reflection's chest, was a black hole that Chad could probably fit his entire fist through. It didn't appear to bother the other too much, though, so the large teen hastily shook it from his mind. The intense eyes that had rooted him to the spot before, now only seemed to glance at him in a bored manner. Assured that this was just one of those weird dreams, Chad once more reached out to Ichigo's bare shoulder. Again, the teen noted that the boy's tan skin seemed much too cold for the sunny weather. As his hand met the bare flesh of his friend's shoulder, Chad noticed a small flinch from the reflection of Ichigo in the window and looked up to see what the problem was.

There, right where Chad had his grip on the actual Ichigo, was a hand-shaped spot of color on the pale countenance of the reflection. The stark difference of white skin being taken over by a light tan was obvious, and the reflection looked as if they were freaked out about it. Eyeing the spreading tan warily, the golden-eyed, pale Ichigo suddenly clutched at the hole over their sternum. In front of Chad's astonished stare, the void slowly closed and more tan shade spread from the now-unbroken skin. In no time all the white skin had been colored in, as well as the hair. Now, the reflection looked nearly the same as the person it was supposed to be modeling. All that remained different were the dark red trunks, and those predatory eyes.

Chad noted that Ichigo's skin had warmed considerably, and the boy had relaxed under his touch.

The large teen watched nervously as the colored in reflection reached for their side of the window's surface. For a moment its hand was stuck, but then it phased through—followed by its forearm—with some difficulty. Chad tensed and fixed his grip on Ichigo's shoulder, ready to grab the other teen and push him back to safety.

However, before any more of the reflection's body could pass through the window that separated them, a shadow rose from behind it. The shadow grew into the shape of a tall, dark-haired man swathed in writhing darkness. Covered in a large mustache that merged with his sideburns, the man gripped not-Ichigo's shoulder, and dragged him back. Not-Ichigo's gold-on-black eyes widened and conveyed an obvious plea to Chad before their body was rapidly devoured in the shadows that emanated from the man looming over them.

Chad's uneasiness grew to great levels as he locked in a stare with cold, blue eyes. Danger oozed from the man and his cloak of void, but soon he was devoured by inky blackness as well and disappeared back into the water's reflection from whence he came.

An unsettling quiet descended upon the vast sea of skyscrapers. Slowly, Chad's grip on his friend's shoulder slipped as the other turned to face him. One icy blue and one shimmering gold-on-black eye gazed into his soul.

"Chad," Ichigo breathed, taking a step forward, "it's cold." The lithe teen reached up to his sternum with a trembling hand, just in time to cover up the small nothingness that had begun to open over his heart. The earlier memory of a similar void on the not-Ichigo jumped to the giant's mind. _That one had closed, but how?_

All he had done was… touch Ichigo on the shoulder?

Chad's eyes widened in understanding. Ichigo had been freezing before, as well, but warmed up the longer that Chad had been in contact with him: He had been too distracted at the time to notice, but now that he thought about it, that's how not-Ichigo's void had disappeared as well. So, Chad met Ichigo in the middle and enveloped the other's smaller frame in his arms. Sure enough, the lithe teen's skin was frigid, and he was shivering minutely. Chad only held on tighter, willing for Ichigo to gain some of his own warmth. At the thought, a golden glow covered Chad's skin, and flowed to cover Ichigo as well. Soon the orange-haired teen's shivers abated, and the golden glow vanished back into Chad's body. The large teen leaned back and grabbed the wrist of the hand covering his friend's chest. He gently pulled it away and examined the once-more unblemished area with his fingers. Chad let out a rumbling sigh of relief.

"…Chad?" Came the uncertain tone of Ichigo's voice. The giant snapped back to reality and tried to meet the other's gaze, only to find it fixed to where Chad had placed his large hand on Ichigo's bare chest. A light blush dusted over both teen's cheeks. Ichigo quickly averted his gaze, and Chad pulled his hand back as though he had been burned. However, the larger teen was silently relieved to see that the color of his friend's eyes had returned to normal.

There was a momentary silence that descended upon the still waters and concrete buildings, before Ichigo looked back at Chad with a hesitant grin and a glint in his eye. The orange-haired teen suddenly crouched down and then leaped forward. Chad instinctively spread his arms, finding them full of lanky teen in no time at all. However, Ichigo's momentum tipped them both backwards and into the water that had previously held them aloft.

It was surprisingly warm.

The last thing that Chad saw of that dream was the view of the light from the surface shining behind Ichigo's hair and lighting it up like a halo as they floated further into the depths.

* * *

That dream was the only one that had clearly featured those two mysterious figures. After that one interesting situation, the dreams went back to 'normal'. Chad didn't confront Ichigo about it, and he could sense that Ichigo had something that he wasn't confronting Chad about, either. Anyway, it was just a figment of his imagination, and he shouldn't put so much weight on what happened in them.

Chad quickly shook himself out of his musings and tried to concentrate on the summer work due the next day. The teen couldn't believe that tomorrow was the first day of high school, and he hoped that he would get into class with Ichigo again.

 _High school will bring good things_ , Chad thought, knowing somewhere in his gut that those would be his famous last words.

* * *

Ichigo smashed a fist onto the screaming contraption on his bedside table and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It was only after wrenching his hand from the remains of his alarm clock that the teen realized what he'd done. _Oh…. Shit,_ the orange-haired teen thought with dismay. A frown settled itself onto Ichigo's face in disappointment; he'll have to get a new one. Fortunately, the machine had served its purpose until the very end, and now he had woken up ten minutes before Isshin was scheduled to kick him awake. Grateful that his day had already started off ten times better than normal, Ichigo groggily stumbled across the floor to his closet to get dressed in his new uniform.

The teen had just finished buttoning up his shirt when Isshin threw open the bedroom door and landed on the empty bed.

"Good morning, my boy! You truly have grown up so well to plan ahead for my surprise attack—!" The man was cut off as his son kicked him through the open window. "Gah! Even opening the window, what an intelligent young man we've raised, Masaki!" Isshin wailed, before stopping once more as he hit the grass below with a dull thud.

"Will that old geezer never leave me alone?" Ichigo grouched, making his way downstairs and into the kitchen. Karin was already seated at the table, and Yuzu was finishing up that morning's breakfast. The light, brown-haired girl turned around at the sound of her brother's steady gait coming closer.

"Good morning, nii-san! I made crepes today, because it's your first day in a new school! I hope you like them," The girl smiled sweetly, handing Ichigo a plate full of raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries covered in whipped cream and chocolate sauce; all wrapped in a thin, sweet layer of dough. The orange-haired teen's eyes lit up at the sight. A small smile smoothed out previously dour features.

"Thank you, Yuzu. It looks and smells delicious," Ichigo praised, giving his younger sibling a one-armed hug. The girl practically preened at the attention, turning back around to the stove with a hum. Ichigo chuckled lightly at the sight and went to sit down next to Karin. The dark-haired girl pretended to glance at him disinterestedly, and then proceeded to ignore him. Ichigo huffed good-naturedly, and pulled the girl into a hug as well, "Good morning, Karin." Karin put up the front of a struggle, but settled into the embrace with no problems, a light flush to her cheeks.

"'Morning, Ichi-nii," She groused. Ichigo once more found himself smiling slightly as he turned to his meal.

Five minutes later, Isshin trudged through the front door and slumped into his chair across from Ichigo. The man was covered in grass and dirt stains. It was the greatest sight that Ichigo could've ever been gifted at ass-o'clock in the morning.

Ichigo quickly finished his crepe and checked the time as he gathered his things. "I gotta go, see you later Karin, Yuzu!" The teen called while slipping his feet into his shoes. The two responded in kind from their place at the dining table. Isshin wailed something like 'don't forget about your dear old dad!' but Ichigo ignored him with practiced ease and slipped out the front door.

About halfway to the school, Ichigo met Chad. They both fell into pace, chatting about everything and nothing. It was comfortable, it was peaceful, and it was everything that Chad and Ichigo needed. Their walk continued along those lines the entire way to the campus.

The front of the school was packed with kids, old and new, checking out clubs and seeing which classes they would be attending. Ichigo and Chad decided to find out what their home room was, first, and were pleased to see that they had the same one once again.

"Mrs. Ochi, huh? I wonder what she'll be like," Ichigo drawled, and Chad nodded in acknowledgment.

There was the distinct sound of a high-pitched scream coming from behind them, and the two turned to see a group of gang members looming over another pair of freshmen. One freshman was lanky with medium-length brown hair that parted down the middle, and the other was short and unassuming with dark blue hair sticking up in opposite directions on each side.

"Where are they!" The gang member that seemed to be the leader yelled in the pair's faces. The brown-haired one seemed to cower, but the other only looked up from his phone for a moment to ask who the man was talking about. "Why, Kurosaki and Yasutora, of course! Now tell me where the hell they are!" The muscular leader at the front demanded. Quickly, Ichigo and Chad stepped between the two groups, protecting the two fellow freshmen.

"Here we are, now what do you want?" Ichigo growled, cracking his knuckles. Chad stood in silent, but intimidating vigil behind him. The large gang leader huffed indignantly and took a step forward.

"You took out one of our boys, so why don't you let us give you some pay back?" The lug grinned, stepping forward and throwing a right hook at the orange-haired teen. Ichigo didn't even flinch as Chad caught it ten centimeters from his face. After that it was a blur of kicks and punches from the duo, and the thugs dropped like flies. The two teens finished in no time and dusted themselves off as they turned to face the two other freshmen that had gotten caught in their mess.

"Sorry about that," Ichigo said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "we didn't mean to get you guys caught up in our mess." Chad grunted an affirmation beside him. The quivering brunette in front of them looked like he just wanted to run off and never look back, but the boy at his side only smiled politely and told them not to worry about it.

"I'm Kojima Mizuiro, and this is my acquaintance Asano Keigo," The small teen with the dark blue hair explained, "we'll be in Mrs. Ochi's freshman class this year." Ichigo grinned, exchanging a glance with Chad.

"What a coincidence, we're in that class as well! Nice to meet you two. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, and this is my friend Chad." Ichigo brandished an arm at the tall, muscular teen, who nodded.

"Yasutora Sado," The male clarified.

"I'm sure we'll be great friends, Kurosaki-kun, Yasutora-kun," Mizuiro stated politely. The orange-haired teen smirked and agreed.

The brunette, Keigo, looked as though he wanted to cry.

* * *

 **I'm FINALLY DONE. Jesus, that took forever. Sorry about that my guys, I just couldn't find the time to work on it. In return, this chapter is almost 2x the length it normally is! I hope you enjoyed, and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!**

 **P.S. This story can now be found on AO3, if you prefer that sort of thing lol.**


	4. Puppies and a Strawberry

Second year high school orientation seemed almost dull compared to the excitement and mild confusion of the first year's.

For one, he was already familiar and bored with the school's layout. Two, there was no debating whether a club would be a good idea or not—the answer was a definite no. It wasn't as though Ichigo didn't want to buy into the idea of having 'another family' to spend time with at school, either: What Isshin said about it was the real setback.

Goat face didn't want him 'distracted' from his duty to his actual family and job. Whatever. It didn't matter.

"Hey, Ichigo," A low timbre called. Said teen felt the corners of his lips twitch, an unbidden warmth filling his body.

"Hey yourself," Ichigo answered, turning to see Chad lumbering his way through the crowd of high schoolers around them. It wasn't difficult; everyone parted like the Red Sea to make way for the big guy. "Have you gotten taller?"

"What makes you say that?" Chad retorted, knowing full well that his uniform pants from last year were already becoming capris. The orange-haired teen only snorted in reply and held up a fist. Chad made it over and obligingly held up his own. A flattering smirk brightened Ichigo's face as their knuckles bumped, and Chad's eyes softened.

As one they turned towards the school building, discussing what had been missed since they'd last seen each other. Chad began with the story of his band's first gig at a nearby restaurant.

Apparently, the people who'd played before them were boo-ed off the stage, and so _La Corazón del Diablo_ —Chad's group—was forced to go early. They had been taken off guard and shuffled awkwardly onto the stage, lugging their equipment behind them. Even with the crowd starting out skeptical from the previous band's failure, once _La Corazón del Diablo_ started playing they elicited continuous whoops and cheers from the patrons of the place.

"We were asked to play again," Chad stated, peering down at the teen by his side. There was a sparkly, content aura practically oozing off him. Ichigo lightly punched his friend's arm, chuckling.

"Dude, tell me you said yes."

"I did," The giant affirmed. "I also received $400 that night and was promised more for the next."

Ichigo's eyes widened, "You got that much for your _first gig_?" He said incredulously. "That's awesome, Chad!"

Chad ducked his head, pleased.

"Mm."

The two ambled aimlessly through the halls, checking out the different activities being offered to students and knowing they wouldn't do any of them. After passing the animal shelter volunteering table, Ichigo remembered the odd job he'd gotten earlier that week.

"Ah, Chad," Ichigo tilted his head towards the other. "A few days ago, I got a call for a dog-sitting job from this couple going on their honeymoon. They paid really well for me to watch their pet until next week. So, yesterday, I went in to get instructions and become familiar with the _dog_ , but when I knocked on their door there was a whole damn _chorus_ of barking. Before I could bolt a woman cracked open the door with this insane smile, and immediately, like, fifteen dogs ran out. It was crazy, look—" The orange-haired teen reached into his back pocket to whip out his phone, and opened a photo to show approximately fifteen two-month-old retriever puppies climbing and piling on what were, presumably, Ichigo's jeans.

Chad couldn't take his eyes away.

 _They're so… fluffy._ The teen thought with great awe and reverence.

"Anyway, I remembered that you take care of a lot of strays sometimes, and are used to dogs, so…" Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck and slipped his phone back into his pocket, "I was wondering if you'd like to take care of them with me? Of course, I'll split the money with you—"

"Yes."

The teen startled, looking up at his friend with mild shock.

Chad was practically vibrating, "Yes, I will help with the… dogs."

Ichigo looked relieved but peered at the larger teen in concern, "Uh, ok man. I go over to the house at about 7:00 every morning, I'll text you the address later." Chad watched him exit through a side entrance of the school, "Oh, and don't wear anything you wouldn't mind setting on fire. See you tomorrow!" Was called back as the door slammed shut.

 _Soft, fluffy, small, cute puppies,_ Chad thought despondently, _Ichigo with soft, fluffy, small, cute puppies._

* * *

"I just need to prepare myself, gimme a second," Ichigo declared, straightening up and taking a deep breath. Chad watched from a safe distance as his friend unlocked the door with the utmost care. There was silence when Ichigo turned the knob but pushing the door open yielded the horrendous screech of dry hinges. A sudden cacophony of barking roared back. Ichigo only had a moment to stiffen before he was being tackled by more than a dozen excited puppies. "FUCK—!" The teen went down with a thud, buried alive under golden fur, "Chad, helb mpf!" Came the muffled cry.

Chad, never one to miss an opportunity, quickly took a picture of the scene.

 _Did I just see… flowers?_ The large teen wondered, absently putting away his phone and continuing to observe the vision before him.

"Stop, that tickles!" Ichigo cried, cheeks turning red from holding in the unmanly peals of laughter that wanted to escape. He was trying to keep one of the puppies from licking under his jaw, "Chad, c'mon, I'm dying here!"

Chad snapped out of a daze he didn't even know he was in. Walking up to the doggy pile, the giant's face became stern.

"Hey," The teen rumbled, "settle down." A hush settled on the porch as the retrievers stopped trying to maul Ichigo and respectfully sat on their haunches. Chad then walked over, slipped his hands under Ichigo's armpits, and hauled the boy up.

The orange-haired teen blinked up at his friend, shell-shocked, "I guess it's a good thing I brought you here to help, huh?"

"Mm."

"…"

"…"

"…Okay, please put me down."

* * *

The couple came back a week later, looking less like they were going to fall apart and more like they were just married to the love of their lives.

Opening the front door of the house caused dread to flash in their eyes with anticipation, but the orange-haired teen only grinned. Instead of a soft stampede, the puppies nicely trotted out to welcome back their owners. Tears welled up when Ichigo called out 'sit!' and all 15 dogs obediently sat on the spot. The couple crouched down to give watery greetings to the pups, laughing when they were licked by a bunch of overeager tongues. And when everything was settled back in, Ichigo was paid rather handsomely for not only doing a great job of watching the dogs, but also teaching them manners.

Closing the door to the house one final time after another round of 'thank you's, Ichigo sighed fondly and started down the sidewalk towards Chad's house. Not only to split the job money as promised, but his friend also proposed they hang out and play Smash Bros. to end the last week of summer. A summer that had seemed to burn brighter than any prior.

Seriously, Japan had hit record highs that year with one of its hottest summers. That much was obvious as Ichigo baked just walking in the shade wearing a T-shirt and shorts. The teen even passed a ghost laying limply on the ground nearby, panting.

It only took a few moments for Chad to answer the door, and Ichigo stepped into the air-conditioned apartment with the expression of one finding God.

"Man, it's hotter than Satan's asshole out there," He complained, pinching the front of his shirt and flapping it back-and-forth to get air flow on his heated skin. Chad nodded sagely, shutting the door. "Hey, you mind if I take a quick shower? I feel gross."

Chad grunted in agreement, "I'll set up the Switch and grab snacks."

"Alright, be out soon!" The orange-haired teen called, heading down the hall. Once Chad was sure his friend was gone, he allowed his mind to take in the image of Ichigo, sweaty and flushed, showering in the bathroom just a few dozen feet away.

Only for a moment, though.

Yeah.

The large teen only just managed to stop thinking about it when he sat down in front of the TV ten minutes later. Unfortunately, Ichigo took that moment to walk into the living room and grab a bottle of water. He was not wearing a shirt. Just a towel around his neck and basketball shorts. _Be still, my heart,_ Chad thought wearily, handing over a controller.

"Thanks, man. My shirt is a lost cause, so I left it in the bathroom. Is that ok?" Ichigo inquired, settling down next to his friend and grabbing the offered item.

"…Mm."

"Cool, I'm gonna kick your ass," The lithe teen challenged, grinning.

And so, the sounds of laughter and angry yelling could be heard well into the night. Only ending when the two teens feel into a heap on the floor, exhausted.

"Oh, Chad… thanks for training those lil' shits; the owners were so amazed they cried," Ichigo huffed, head pillowed on his friend's stomach. He could feel the satisfied rumble that followed. "G'night, man… talk to you… in the morning…" The two shared a yawn and fell into a deep sleep.

 _A sweltering city encased in fog, surrounded by mountains, and a cold forest of skyscrapers rising out of the sea,_

 _Colliding into one another, the mountains flood with water, and the beach is shrouded by a thick mist._

 _Our worlds grow ever closer._

* * *

School started that Monday, and one step into class had Ichigo immediately regretting every life decision that's led him up to this point. The atmosphere was stale, and muted groaning could be heard from every corner of the room. Ichigo did an about-face and tried to leave, but Chad caught his shoulder and firmly turned him back around.

"Ah! Kurosaki-kun, Yasutora-kun, welcome back," Ochi-sensei called from the front of the room. Ichigo grumbled a hello, and Chad simply held up a hand in greeting before steering them both towards their seats.

That mood persisted throughout the entire day: Ichigo didn't even remember saying goodbye to Chad before he found himself sitting in bed at home. _Somehow… It's so cold without him by my side,_ Ichigo pondered—refusing to think of Isshin, who's burning touch during any brief proximity was never enough—eyebrows scrunched and hand lifting to feel the skin over his heart. His hand didn't feel anything cold, and yet there was something freezing underneath his skin. _It's gotten better over the past year, though. Maybe it'll be fine on its own?_

Disturbed but not willing to admit it, Ichigo lay back onto his pillow. Truthfully, he'd been feeling this way ever since his mother died. That rainy day, a void had opened in his chest.

One that always threatened to consume him.

He thought that it had improved after Isshin told him to stop waiting by the river, but perhaps he only became used to the cold and now, after seeing what it was like to be warm again, going back to that just felt worse. _How depressing,_ Ichigo shook himself, trying to relax.

However, that action was thwarted by the thump he heard outside his window. _What was that?_ The teen's face became stern as he sat up to find the source. _When did it get so dark outside?_

Then a girl with a sword opened his goddamn window and jumped into his room _._ Ichigo was so stunned that he lost all higher brain function past _right through my window and she doesn't even acknowledge I'm here?_ and _what the hell is she wearing?_

Therefore, the dark-haired girl had time to take a cursory glance around and mumble confusedly to herself, "My denreishinki said there was a hollow, but now some other weird signature is blocking my senses…"

So, Ichigo was left with the only choice that someone in his trying circumstances could possibly choose; he kicked her in the back of the knees and watched the bitch fold like a lawn chair.

"Who are you and what the actual fuck are you doing?" The orange-haired teen screeched. Robe girl looked up at him from her sprawled position on the floor, affronted. To her credit, she recovered from the fall quickly.

"I am Rukia Kuchiki, the new Shinigami in charge of Karakura Town!" Newly dubbed, the girl scrambled to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at him, "Bakudo #1: Sho!" Ichigo didn't even have time to unpack any of that before his arms were twisted behind his back and he was brought to his knees by some supernatural force. "Now, who are _you_ and how can you see me?" Ichigo thought he could detect a weird tremble in her voice and an unnatural paleness to her skin as her eyes raked over his face, but the teen didn't comment on it.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, and how am I supposed to answer that? You're right there, aren't you?" The orange-haired teen tried to break free from his restraints, to no avail. "What did you do to me?" Rukia decided to answer the last, first.

"I restrained you with kido, and you're not supposed to see me because I am a death god. Normal humans cannot perceive our spiritual forms." The dark-haired girl crossed her arms defiantly.

"Okay so I'm not normal or whatever, got it. What were you mumbling about earlier? Hallows? Halloween isn't for another 3 months!"

Rukia's stance lost some of its rigidity to confusion, "Halloween?" She shook herself, "No, I said hollows; the corrupted souls of dead humans, called pluses—"

"Wait, you don't know what Halloween is? That's cold."

"—Shut up! That doesn't matter." A light bulb seemed to go off above her head. Rukia reached into her sleeves to pull out a brush that was already suspiciously inked, and a scroll, "Here, why don't I teach you? I doubt you would get it otherwise." She opened the scroll and vigorously began to draw all over it as she talked. "When a human dies they become a plus: a very weak spirit with chains coming out of their chest, which are used to attach the spirit to their body while alive. However, because they are dead, and the chain not attached, the links begin to disappear. This process is called encroachment. For some it takes days, but usually it will take months or years to encroach naturally. At the end of this process, the base holding in a plus's heart falls off and becomes a bone-white mask on the body of the newly made hollow. These hollows will then proceed to consume everyone they know and love."

"Oh, cool—wait what?" Ichigo had no idea what to say to that.

"That's where the Shinigami step in," Rukia pointed to some disfigured shape drawn on the scroll. "We are sent out to purify all hollows in the world of the living, keeping them from hurting other innocent souls. However, we do not truly kill them. All the souls they've consumed, and even the hollow's original spirit, are sent to live peacefully in the Soul Society."

"Wonderful—fantastic, really. Now, what the hell am I supposed to be getting from that blob you're pointing at?" Ichigo deadpanned. The Shinigami looked as though she'd just had every ancestor in her known line insulted.

"How rude! It's Chappy wearing a shihakusho; the uniform of every proper Shinigami!" Rukia harrumphed, but quickly gained a wicked gleam in her eye. "Why, I should show you just how good my art really is." The brush was brandished threateningly.

Ichigo paled, "God please no. Mercy, fair maiden!" The teen furiously threw himself to the side when the girl moved closer but got stuck on his back like a depressed turtle. Even tossing his head as much as he could a deceptively dainty hand still caught his forehead, the other going to town on his cheek with the brush. "Are you drawing a dick on my face?!"

"No," Rukia sniffed, bringing a hand up to her mouth to hide a vicious grin, "it's a one-eared rabbit." Ichigo felt something snap in his neck as he turned to look at the floor-length mirror across the room. _That's… definitely a dick._

All humor faded from the atmosphere as the house shook on its foundations.

A horrified scream sounded from downstairs. There was the breaking of glass and the sound of cracking plaster.

"I-…Ichi-nii!" Someone was calling his name.

 _Karin._

Rukia looked devastated, "I couldn't even sense it, and it was right beneath us! What's going on?" She ran from the room without a backward glance, drawing her sword.

Ichigo was left in the dust. Images of what terrible scene awaited him plagued the teen's mind, and his heart sped up uncontrollably.

 _Karin... Yuzu… They're down there waiting for me! I need to get out of these ropes._ The teen struggled, hearing the weird magic creak under the strain. _I can't fail my family again, I can't!_

More shouting arose from below, and once again the house shuddered. _My name and existence mean nothing if I can't protect them now!_ Gathering up all his energy, Ichigo took a deep breath and strained against the bonds with his entire being. Hazy symbols flared to life around him and shattered one by one, until finally the ropes disappeared altogether. No time was spared before the teen was sprinting down the stairs into the living room.

There was a hole in the wall the size of a truck, an eldritch horror holding his precious little sister Karin in its large hand, and Yuzu passed out on the floor along with Isshin. They were all covered in various scrapes and bruises. _Where's Rukia?_

"Ichi-nii, help!" Karin's voice brought Ichigo back to reality. She was being squeezed to death.

"Karin!" The orange-haired teen glanced around the room frantically, spotting the barstools kept by the counter. "I'm coming! Just hold on a second longer!" He ran over and snatched one up before charging headlong at the hollow and smashing the seat against its leg.

The hollow looked down interestedly.

 _Fuck._

Ichigo couldn't back away fast enough to escape being snatched up in one fist. The creature brought him up to its face and exhaled toxic gas. The teen gagged, feeling light-headed. Was he going to die like this?

A broken yell pierced the air as Rukia appeared, stabbing her sword into the hollow's mask. It screeched and stumbled, retreating into the black void that appeared behind it. Ichigo broke out of its lose grip and pried open the other hand's on Karin. The teen caught her before she could hit the pavement, but she had fallen unconscious while being squished. He cradled her in his arms, checking for any obvious wounds while the abyss closed after the monster.

"It's not over," Ichigo turned to see Rukia clutching her stomach, leaned against the outside wall of the house, "it will come back in mere moments and I will not be able to stop it."

The teen's face turned stony. He placed Karin inside with the rest of the family, and then returned to the Shinigami. "What do I need to do?"

Rukia looked relieved that he understood. "I am too wounded to continue the fight; it is taking all I have to stand right now. However, I can transfer my power to you. Thrusting my sword through the very center of your being will imbue you with a small portion of my reiryoku, giving you enough strength to defeat the hollow. However, I can't guarantee it will work. You may die." She levelled her sword at him, pleased by the unwavering resolve in his eyes.

"There are no lengths I will not go to save my family. Stab me," Ichigo returned, grabbing the end that Rukia brandished fearlessly.

With a precise thrust and aiding pull, the katana was lodged into his sternum. _Power… I must be stronger than any enemy that threatens my family._

Rukia slipped a bit of her reiryoku through her zanpakuto and into the teen's soul chain but found she couldn't cut off the flow. Shocked, she looked up to see the other's face scrunched in concentration, a death grip on the edge piercing him. Her reiatsu was being sucked into something that felt like a spiritual black hole to her senses.

She was effectively being sucked dry, _how is this happening?_ Knees wobbling, Rukia collapsed—no longer able to stand. The outer layer of her shihakusho dispersed, leaving only the pure white kimono beneath to soak in red. Her vision began to tunnel. _That hollow was way too strong, it sliced me open with almost no trouble at all. How is Ichigo going to defeat it?_

As the Shinigami's violet eyes began to close, she looked up and dimly noticed two shining, golden ones staring back down at her. _What…?_ Rukia fell over, unconscious.

Moonlight reflected off pale skin and danced behind molten irises.

Ichigo felt content, comfortable in his own body. Instead of the overbearing cold, now he was pleasantly cool—like the breeze carried on the waves of a hot, summer day. For a moment, he forgot he was in the middle of a fight.

Glancing down brought him back to that harsh reality.

Rukia was sprawled on the grass against his house, and he immediately stooped down to check on her. There was a discomforting amount of blood soaking through the white robes over her abdomen, and Ichigo knew he would have to treat those soon or risk her bleeding out. Before that, however… "Why the hell am I wearing those shini-whatsit robes? And what's on my back…?" The teen reached behind him and felt the hilt of a large weapon.

"Oh, guess the power transfer thing worked. And nobody's dead," Ichigo took a cursory glance at Rukia's prone form, "well… in a way that counts right now." A warbled roar sounded as if from behind a barrier, and the orange-haired teen whipped around to see the air tremble and split open into a gaping maw. Out tumbled the hollow, frenzied and looking for something to take on.

Ichigo figured this was his time to step up to the plate and unsheathed the sword on his back. It was six feet in length and made the cool contentment he was feeling vanish. A freezing hunger took its place: he was ravenous. It made his chest throb in time with the slow steps he was now taking towards the gargantuan creature. The hollow lumbered clumsily and wasn't very smart, but it would do for now. _Do… what?_ His body moved without conscious impulse, severing the monster in half with no difficulty thanks to the six-foot meat cleaver in his hand. Another throb had him throwing the hunk of metal away and clutching his chest. The hand almost sunk in entirely.

Every thought in his head screeched to a halt. Pulling apart the top of his shihakusho revealed what he now realized was abnormally pale skin, and a black hole the size of his clenched fist going straight through his body. _Shit shit shit,_ Ichigo thought he was going to pass out or be sick or _die—_

The downed hollow began to disperse, and the pull he felt to go and… sink his teeth into it before it disappeared was more than he could handle. In seconds he was by its hand, head poised above a fleshy forearm. Ichigo could've sworn he heard pleased gurgling in a distant part of his mind. Horrifyingly, it took him until after he'd already bitten and absorbed the energy he could feel under its skin to understand what he was doing.

 _Oh, fuck._

Ichigo dry heaved onto the pavement. Why did he have to try and eat the damn thing? So gross. Blearily looking around, he crawled over to his sword and used it as a crutch to make his way back over to Rukia and… _is that my body? Weird._ Sitting down by his limp flesh bag, the teen took a moment to regain sanity.

Thankfully, the hole was now the size of a ping pong ball and filled in so you couldn't see right through him. His skin was back to a healthier color, as well. Unfortunately, Ichigo knew it was most certainly because he'd just consumed a hollow. He was still feeling high off the small energy boost.

 _I just know I'm going to have nightmares about this,_ Ichigo griped, sliding back into his own body. He wisely did nothing when he sensed a heavy gaze settle over the area. Instead, the teen carefully picked up his new, petite acquaintance and bandaged her up in the clinic well enough. Practice makes perfect, after all, and he'd been treating wounds for as long as he could remember.

He did the same stellar job with the rest of his family and placed them in their rooms. Even Isshin, who was more than two times heavier than Ichigo—the process involved more dragging than not—was settled.

Finally done, he dropped Rukia onto his bed and grabbed an extra blanket from the closet so he could flop onto the floor like a sad sack of shit. The teen hoped that the girl would make it through the night. She had looked bad; pale and sweaty, huffing out labored breaths.

Trying to fall asleep but kept awake by this new sensitivity he had to the world around him, Ichigo noticed the heavy gaze from outside was still there. _I'm gonna stay up all night at this rate,_ was his last thought before succumbing to exhaustion.

* * *

Urahara was afraid the Kurosaki boy would stay awake all night, but thankfully his suspicions were wrong and Ichigo had passed out in no time. That left the scientist to ponder the strange scene he'd come upon when he detected the power transfer and headed over. Unfortunately, it seems the shopkeeper had come too late to observe anything besides the boy fixing the damage done to everyone as best he could. It was admirable, really. Urahara appreciated the care shown to the family even when the boy himself was exhausted, so the shopkeeper could do the same.

Fixing the hole in the wall before morning would be hard, but not impossible. And all he had to do was give Tessai a call to make everyone good as new! Then, he could take Kuchiki back to the shop and ask her what happened. _Yes, yes, it's all coming together!_

Stormy grey eyes sharpened, _But I wonder… how is it that Kurosaki defeated the hollow fast enough that I couldn't even make it in time to see the end? His spiritual pressure is… unnatural… even with a soul like his._

 _Maa, I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. There are plans, after all._

* * *

Ichigo woke up feeling like he'd been hit by two separate trains, staring despondently at the sight of his pillow stained black. He was thoroughly confused until he remembered the ink drawn on his face, _Oh yeah, the dick._ The teen slumped over again, peaceful.

"The dick!" He yelled, scrambling off the bed and hitting the floor.

"Nii-san, are you awake? You're going to be late and it's only the second day of school!" Yuzu sweetly called up the stairs, "I made crepes this morning!"

Ichigo shot off the floor and over to the mirror, "Yeah, I'm coming!" He turned his head to see an indecipherable smudge on his right cheek. _Ok so that wasn't a dream,_ the teen turned to grab his uniform from the desk and slip it on. _Then, where did Rukia go?_

Fortunately, the ink came off his face with minimal washing and Ichigo was soon on his way to school with a stomach full of crepes. While walking, Ichigo pondered how strange everyone had acted that morning: Yuzu and Isshin didn't remember being attacked, nobody showed any signs of it, and there wasn't even a hole in the wall! Karin apparently thought it some trick of the mind.

("Ichi-nii, I had this terrible nightmare last night. Some ugly thing blasted a hole in the wall and knocked everyone out. I was doing fine until you popped up out of nowhere in spandex and a dick logo on your chest like Superman. I think I woke up screaming." "Karin, we're not allowed to say stuff like that!" "HEY! I'd never wear spandex. Take that back!")

Mostly, he was worried about Rukia. There was no way she could've gotten up on her own with such deep wounds. Perhaps a talk with Chad would help him figure it out. Dude would believe him in a heartbeat and give useful advice in the process.

Walking into the classroom, Ichigo greeting Mrs. Ochi dully. Sliding sideways into his seat, he turned to face the giant behind him. "Chad, it feels like I snorted ten pounds of coke last night," the teen slumped onto his friend's desk and pillowed his head in his arms. Chad rested a large, warm hand on his head in condolence, knowing it wouldn't help to say that Ichigo definitely had no idea what that felt like.

"Alright, class! Please welcome your new classmate!" The teacher announced, ushering the student in under the class's undivided attention. Ichigo didn't bother lifting his head.

"Why, hello! I am Rukia Kuchiki, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" Ichigo groaned, of course it was her. He would know that voice anywhere, startlingly high pitched and way too formal though it was.

"Oh, I did," The orange-haired teen mumbled despairingly into his arm. He basked gratefully in the confused pat that Chad gave his head.

Why did he have the feeling his life was about to get a lot worse?

* * *

 **Okay, so I know you guys totally wanted to hear about the backstory for all those dogs, right? Here it is: One day a woman is walking her two dogs, a male and a female (that is going to have a litter but it's too early to tell), when suddenly the male slips out of the leash and runs off. He is gone for a week and the woman puts up missing signs all over town. By the time she gets a call, the female dog is already showing that she has a litter. The call has big news—the woman on the other end of the line has seen the dog, but it was with her own female dog, who was supposed to be safely going through heat in her fenced yard. Now her dog is pregnant. The two women decide to meet and talk over what they're going to do but hit it off spectacularly. They start dating, move in together when the puppies are born, and plan to get married. Their dogs seem very pleased with one another and take care of shared litters together. After the women get married they decide to go on a honeymoon, taking the two female dogs with them. That's where Ichi steps in to take care of the rambunctious pups.**

 **Basically, lesbian couple with lesbian dog couple? Sign me the fuck up. Cutest shit ever if you ask me.**

 **Thanks for sticking with this story after such a long wait! Have a nice day :)**


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